Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB) was recognised as one of Malaysia's top companies in The Wall Street Journal Asia's "Asia 200 Most Admired Companies" in anawards ceremony in Beijing recently. The "Asia 200 Most Admired Companies" survey which is conducted by The Wall Street Journal Asia is the ultimateperformance review of Asia 's leading companies, with the winners of the survey being determined by The Wall Street Journal readers.

"Hong Leong Bank is delighted and honoured to be placed in the Top 5 for the Financial Reputation category and the Top 10 for the Corporate Reputationcategory. Overall, the Bank was recognised by The Wall Street Journal Asia as one of Malaysia 's Top 10 companies," said Ms Yvonne Chia , Group ManagingDirector of Hong Leong Bank Berhad.

This year's survey which began in August 2008, involved a total of 2,622 executives and professionals across 12 Asian-Pacific countries. These decisionmakers rate approximately 40 companies in each market according to the following key leadership criteria; innovation, long-term vision, quality, corporatereputation and financial reputation.

"Besides this award from The Wall Street Journal , the Bank has also won several other awards this year. Some of the awards include the Asiamoney FX Poll2009's "Best Domestic Provider of FX Services In Malaysia" as voted by Financial Institutions in its largest ever FX Poll, the JPMorgan Chase ‘MT202 EliteQuality Recognition Award' for three consecutive years and the JPMorgan Chase ‘MT103 Standard Award' for two consecutive years to name a few," added MsChia. " We are extremely proud that our efforts are being recognized and appreciated by industry leaders and our valued clients," she added.

"Our brand stands for integrity, trust and service so in everything that we do, we are continuously stepping up our capabilities and the efficiency of ouroperations as we endeavor to extend our lead in this sector. The Bank has a strong and embedded brand, long-lasting customer relationships and a provenreputation and track record of value creation. This is not achieved overnight, but from decades of embedment, of continuously reaching out to our customersand listening to them," continued Ms Chia.

"By winning these prestigious recognitions, we believe that it serves to act as an indicator for our customers to feel secure and to further place theirtrust with the Bank," she concluded.

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Press Release - 02/11/2009

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